Practical Applications

Applying Brewing Better Beer

• Brewing Better Beer released in April 2011 • Now in second printing

• What did readers find new and interesting?

• A case study of making two beers • Both use tips from the book

• But also understand the decisions and reasoning

• Learn the approach not just the recipe • Make your own choices based on your preferences

• Remember to adjust recipes for your system

Recipe Formulation Goal: Reduce Harshness

• A Personal Preference, not an Absolute

• Harshness • Coarse, rough bitterness

• Astringency

• Not a clean flavor profile

• Can come from many sources (ingredients, process) • Are IBUs the only measure of bitterness?

• Harshness makes a beer seem more bitter

• Clean bitterness vs. harsh bitterness

• Can you select techniques and ingredients to reduce this flavor?

Tip #1: Simplify Water Treatments

• Think more about engineering your beer than engineering your water

• There are many ways to treat your water

• Try tasting beer made with lower mineral water

• Alka Seltzer is not a good flavor in beer

• Why do you add salts to your brewing water? • Because your beer is a certain color?

• Because of the water from a certain city?

• Because you want to hit a certain mash pH?

• Because you want a certain flavor profile?

• Because a spreadsheet told you to?

“Duty Calls” – www.xkcd.com

Remember: Be Careful Out There

Water Tips

• If your water isn’t good for brewing, use RO water and build upon it

• Focus on getting a correct mash pH (5.2-5.5)

• Some calcium is helpful for the mash and boil

• Carbonates are generally bad

• Phosphoric acid can lower pH too

• Not all mash salts carry over into the boil • You can add salts to the boil for flavor

• Use CaSO4 or CaCl2 depending on hop vs. malt flavor preference

• Understand flavor impact of what you add

Tip #2: Handling Dark Grains

• Why do you mash dark grains? • Extract brewers just steep them

• What else do you get when you mash and boil dark grains? • Ever try coffee sitting on a burner all day?

• Harsh and astringent vs. smooth and clean flavors

• Are you adding a lot of carbonates to your mash to neutralize the acidity of dark grains?

• Why have either in the mash?

• Dark grains and water adjustments are related

Dark Grain Tips

• Don’t add dark grains to the mash • Add at vorlauf

• Hot steep

• Cold steep, no boil

• Cold-steep, add during boil (various times)

• All give different flavor profiles and harshness

• Adjust mineral additions accordingly

• Not just dark grains – any specialty grains that have no diastatic power and no significant starch to convert

Tip #3: Maximizing Malt Flavor

• Use fresh, high-quality malt

• Avoid oxidation and staleness

• No sparge brewing – first runnings only • Boost grain bill by 33-40%

• Don’t sparge

• Add water to kettle if necessary

• Not all gravity points taste the same

• Try decoction techniques, even in non-traditional styles

• Break country barriers – try Belgian malts in American beers, etc.

Tip #4: Maximizing Hop Flavor

• Later hop additions have less harshness • Not all IBUs are created equal

• Watch out getting vegetal flavors from more hops

• First wort hopping • Little aroma, lots of flavor

• Seems like less IBUs than it is because it’s a clean bitterness

• All late additions (20 min or less)

• Whirlpool instead of (or in addition to) dry hop – a personal choice • Pro brewers whirlpool more than you’d think

Tip #5: Signature Ingredients

• Learn the flavor profile of more obscure ingredients • English Brown malt

• Dark Munich malt

• Special B malt

• Pale chocolate malt

• Blending malts for new flavors

• Hop combinations – single hop vs. blends

• Yeast varieties, fermentation profiles

• Pick ingredients to support your theme/objectives

• Sources of inspiration – be creative

• Belgian crystal malts

• Torrified wheat

• Belgian sugar syrups

• New hop varieties

Recipe: West Coast Blonde Ale Brewed with Frank Barickman

Recipe for 10.25 finished gallons 8 lbs 2-row malt (US) 6 lbs Pilsner malt (German) 4 lbs Munich malt (German) 1 lb Carahell malt (German) 1 oz Meridian FWH 2 oz Centennial @ 1 2 oz Meridian @ 0 – whirlpool 20 RO water 2 tsp CaCl2 in mash ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric per 5 gal Wyeast 1318 London III Meridian pellets 6.7% Centennial whole 10.3%

13 gallons pre boil 11 gallons post boil Mash 149F for 60 min Mashout 168F for 30 min 75 minute boil 20 min whirlpool Oxygen 1 min Ferment 68F OG 1.048 FG 1.010 15 IBUs (estimated) 27 IBUs (measured!) Thanks to Actual Brewing Columbus, Ohio actualbeer.com

You Got a Problem with That?

Recipe: English Brown Ale

Recipe for 11 gallons 6 lbs Maris Otter (UK) 6 lbs Golden Promise (UK) 3 lbs Vienna (German) 2 lbs Torrified Wheat (US) 1 lb Crystal 65 (UK) 1 lb Crystal 45 (UK) ½ lb Pale chocolate malt (UK) ¼ lb Chocolate malt (UK) 2 oz Willamette @ 20 1 oz Willamette @ 10 ½ oz Willamette @ 5 Wyeast 1318 RO water with 2 tsp CaCl2 ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric per 5 gallons Willamette whole 6.6%

Preboil volume 13 gallons Final volume 11 gallons Mash base grains 60 min @ 151F Add other malts at vorlauf Batch sparge 75 minute boil 20 min whirlpool Ferment 68-70F OG 1.044 FG 1.011 ABV 4.4% IBU 18

Recipe: English Mild Brewed by Keith Kost

Recipe for 11 gallons 12.5 lbs Maris Otter (UK) 20 oz Crystal 120 (UK) 14 oz Dextrine malt 10 oz Pale chocolate malt (UK) 3 oz Chocolate malt (UK) 3 oz Roasted barley (UK) 1.05 oz Challenger 6.2% @ 90 ½ oz Goldings 5.6% @ 10 Wyeast 1318

Preboil volume 13 gallons Final volume 11 gallons Mash grains 60 min @ 151F Batch sparge 90 minute boil Ferment 68-70F OG 1.036 FG 1.013 ABV 3.0% IBU 16

Questions?